Wormtongue

Notes

1

Gríma's title in the language of the Rohirrim was wyrm-tunga, which is modernised as 'Wormtongue'. In fact Anglo-Saxon (used by Tolkien to represent the speech of Rohan) used wyrm for various types of creatures, from what we would today call 'worms' to snakes and even Dragons. The meaning intended by wyrm-tunga was actually 'snake' (suggesting deviousness and deceptiveness) rather than 'worm' in the modern sense, though actually either reading would suit Gríma's character.